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Chuck Darwin's Extinction Squad iPad Review

Review by Chris Buffa
Published 2 years ago

One of the benefits of playing Adult Swim games involves buying with confidence, knowing with utmost certainty that each one of the company's apps are not only kooky and full of shenanigans, but also intelligently designed, highly polished and, most importantly, a lot of fun. Such is the case with the publisher's latest creation, Chuck Darwin's Extinction Squad, an off-the-wall title that, despite featuring plenty of gore, carries a positive message. Sort of.

Do you have what it takes to save different species?

Said message involves rescuing animals from certain doom, perhaps in one of the more bizarre ways possible. Each stage takes place in a different part of the world (be it Africa, Australia and Asia, among others), with two zoological defenders holding a trampoline at the bottom of the screen (you play with the iPhone or iPad held vertically). From there, a variety of animals throw themselves off a cliff, and it's your job to bounce them to safety, so to speak. Miss a critter, and the little guy explodes into a bloody paste, perhaps with some entrails left over for good measure, depending on its size; the whale makes for a nasty cleanup.

That said, you slide a finger left or right to direct these do-gooders, as you attempt to meet each board's quota, be it 50 saved animals, 60 and so on and so forth. Meanwhile, you must avoid bombs at all costs while making use of various power-ups, such as a Mighty Magnet that attracts creatures, or a Super Shield that deflects those bothersome explosives. There's even in-game currency in the form of coins that go towards unlocking other useful items and environments, though loot is a bit tough to come by naturally; of course, Adult Swim is right there with more via in-app purchase, should you feel like splurging. Finally, a Wild Wheel lets you try your luck, where spins produce bonus money as well as those aforementioned items. Conversely, you could land on a bad section of the wheel and lose.

Spin the wheel, make the deal.

All told, the game's typical Adult Swim: in-your-face and addictive. The further you progress, the more difficult it becomes to save all those lions, gorillas, pandas and dodos, and it doesn't take long for the suicidal animals to meet their tragic end. The same goes for you, as the bombs continue to fall, sometimes four at a time. You'll need a quick eye and careful maneuvering to survive. Doing so, of course, results in your climbing the online leaderboard, as well as unlocking various in-game achievements.

On that note, we'll stop short of calling Extinction Squad Adult Swim's finest effort, but it's another quality game to add to the growing list. Animal rights activists may take issue with the gruesome results, but considering the cartoon-style visuals and light-heartedness contained within, we think everyone should take a chill pill, sit back and do their best to make this virtual world a better place.